Smith missed a classy opportunity to take the high road

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Tal Smith missed a classy opportunity to go out with dignity and perhaps even style. No, there were no parades and it wasn’t exactly going out on top, but Smith could simply have resigned and headed out the door with Drayton McLane.

Instead, he chose to go down with his ship and his mates like a captain at sea. Now, he’s upset with the manner in which he was fired from a position he’s held since 1994.

Perhaps staying on was the classy move, but now he will live with the indignity of being fired by the same team for a second time. In fact, I had predicted that the 78-year-old Smith would leave his post as President of the Houston Astros when McLane signed on the dotted line and handed over the keys to new owner Jim Crane. When that didn’t happen, the news of Sunday’s firing was inevitable. Crane held the news — or at least tried to — until after the Thanksgiving holiday.

Smith had been an architect of so many things that are the Houston Astros. As general manager from 1976-85, he helped to build the organization’s first two playoff teams. He was fired unceremoniously by then-owner John McMullen. Like it or loathe it, Smith was one of the chief architects of Minute Maid Park, especially providing input into the unique dimensions and angles of the park. Yes, that includes Tal’s Hill.

Further back, Smith was assistant to the president of the Houston Sports Association when that group built the Astrodome.

As a veteran under McLane, Smith has served as president of baseball operations since 1994, overseeing a revolving door of sorts for GM and manager. He’s also presided over some of the highest of highest and lowest of lows in the organization’s 50-year history.

You can blame him for a 106-loss season, for six straight years without playoffs, for Tim Purpura, Cecil Cooper and all the other dark days in the McLane Era. However, you will have to credit him with 1980, 1986, 1997-2001, the 2005 pennant and World Series appearance and more.

Smith admits he saw the handwriting on the wall. He had conversations with both Crane and new Astros’ President George Postolos over the past few months so he knew the direction they wanted to take the organization. Even if the new owner decided to keep Wade for another year, Smith’s tenure was certain to end, at least in his current role. Of course, Crane could have kept Smith on in an advisory or even transitional role, but as Smith noted in Zachary Levine’s article: “You can only have so many presidents.”

A simple resignation handed to Crane at last week’s closing would have have allowed Smith to leave with head held high and provided Crane an opportunity to honor him for his service and start with a clean slate. Smith would have thrown out the first pitch in one of the throwback games in 2012, and we’d be on our merry way.

Now, only one week into the Crane administration, the bitter discord has peeked its ugly head.